


we held the line

by StartheFoxhound



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23057422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StartheFoxhound/pseuds/StartheFoxhound
Summary: They held the line on Virmire.  But the fight wasn't over yet.Kirrahe joins Shepard's crew on the Normandy.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Kirrahe found Commander Shepard on the lower level of the Normandy, sitting with her back to a set of lockers and looking none to pleased with the current situation. Not that he could blame her for that. It had been a rough couple of days for all of them.

“Commander Shepard,” he said as he approached, stopping so that he was standing just in front of her.

She looked up then, almost as if she hadn’t really been paying attention to anything before hearing her name. “Captain Kirrahe? What are you still doing here?”

It was a fair question. Kirrahe had told her that he and the other salarians would leave the Normandy as soon as they docked somewhere. And the Citadel, where they were currently docked, as a good place to get off and seek out another vessel that could take them to Sur’kesh. The rest of his men including Commander Rentola were doing just that.

Rentola had been surprised when Kirrahe told him he planned to stay on the Normandy, but respected his decision. He would make sure everyone else got back and turn in Kirrahe’s report to their superiors in the STG.

“I’d like to come with you when you go after Saren,” Kirrahe told Shepard.

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “We aren’t going after Saren. The Council grounded the Normandy. They won’t send a ship into the Terminus System even if it means letting Saren reach the conduit.”

Kirrahe’s large eyes widened a little at that. He knew that Shepard had met with Council, but he’d assumed that meeting was so that she could update them on the situation. It hadn’t even occurred to him that they would put a stop to the mission. The Council couldn’t openly send a fleet into the Terminus Systems. But a spectre wasn’t a fleet, and spectres were usually given free rein to solve problems how they saw fit.

He sat down next to Shepard so that he was also sitting with his back to the lockers. “And you’re just going to accept that?”

“Of course not! They’ve locked down all the Normandy’s major systems because they know if they didn’t, I’d already have flown the Normandy out of here! How can they just sit there and do nothing? Saren is searching Ilos for the conduit. If he finds it first, we’re all dead.”

“Is there a way you could appeal their decision?” Kirrahe asked.

Shepard shook her head. “I tried. They won’t listen to reason.”

The room was silent for a moment, neither one sure of what to say. Then Joker’s voice came over the comms. “Sorry to interrupt, Commander. We’ve got a message from Captain Anderson.”

“What’s the message?” Shepard asked.

“The Captain said to meet him at Flux, that club down in the wards.”

Shepard pushed herself to her feet. Whatever Anderson wanted, she assumed it was important. Hopefully it was good news. She could use some of that.

* * *

Ashley approached Kirrahe not long after Shepard left for her meeting with Anderson. “Commander Rentola and the other salarians left an hour ago.”

Kirrahe nodded. “They did.”

“And you’re still here?”

“I thought I’d stick around and see this through to the end,” Kirrahe said, “As long as Commander Shepard doesn’t mind.”

“She won’t,” Ashley said, “I fought with you on Virmire. We could use your help.”

She fell silent after that, her eyes focusing on the floor in front of her rather than on Kirrahe. He could guess why. “I gave my condolences to Commander Shepard, but I’d like to give them to you too. Lieutenant Alenko was a good soldier. Did you serve with him long?”

Ashley shook her head. “Only the last few weeks on the Normandy. I was serving on Eden Prime before Saren and geth attacked. Shepard and Kaiden found me when they were searching for the Beacon. The rest of my unit was gone so I joined them. When we got back to the Normandy, Anderson officially transferred me here.”

She paused for a moment before continuing. “It should have been me. I was the one who failed to hold off the geth. Why didn’t Shepard stay with the bomb? Maybe we could have made it there.”

“We wouldn’t have,” Kirrahe said. “Our position was being overrun, and there were too many between us and the bomb. If Commander Shepard hadn’t picked us up we all would have died.”

“That doesn’t make it better,” Ashley said.

“No, it doesn’t. But we’re soldiers, Chief Williams. We all know the risks. Lieutenant Alenko understood that.” Kirrahe reached out and clasped her on the arm. Ashley stared at his hand for a moment but didn’t pull away. “When this is over, we will honor Lieutenant Alenko for his service. And I will make sure my people are aware of what he did.”

“Thank you,” Ashley said.

“He deserves it,” Kirrahe said. He couldn’t say that he knew Kaiden Alenko well. It was Ashley who had fought beside him on Virmire while Kaiden prepared the bomb. But he knew what Kaiden had done for all of them, and he knew what it was like to lose friends in combat. Many of his own regiment had fallen on Virmire.

Kirrahe let go of Ashley’s arm but he didn’t leave just yet.

“I’m glad you’re staying,” Ashley said.

“Commander Shepard could still tell me to leave,” Kirrahe said.

Ashley gave him a small smile. “She won’t.”

* * *

Everything moved quickly after the meeting with Anderson. Shepard rushed back onto the Normandy, heading straight to the cockpit to update Joker on the situation, and wait the Normandy’s systems to come back online. As soon as they did, she looked over at Joker. “Let’s go. Get us out of here. Now!”

It was only after they’d speed through the relay and away from the Citadel that she allowed herself to breathe again. She could only hope that their littler stunt wouldn’t get Anderson in too much trouble. Udina wasn’t like to appreciate anyone barging into his office of the political mess it was likely to create with the Council.

They were on their way to Ilos though. Now if they could just get to the conduit before Saren. The Council might be more appreciative after she dragged their rogue agent in and saved everything. Although you never knew.

She’d almost forgotten about the salarian captain until she ran into him on the way to her quarters.

“Ah, Commander Shepard,” Kirrahe said, “I’m glad to see we’re on our way once more.”

“Next stop Ilos. I hope you were serious about wanting to come with us because we aren’t docking anywhere on the way. I’m not giving anyone else the chance to help us.”

“If I didn’t want to be here, I would have left the Normandy while we were still on the Citadel,” Kirrahe said, “I will stay with you until Saren is dealt with.”

“You don’t have to report to your superiors in the STG?”

“Commander Rentola has my report. He’ll tell them what they need to know. Saren needs to be stopped, Commander. My superiors will understand that. Besides, I’m just continuing my investigation.”

Well, Shepard certainly wasn’t going to turn down the extra gun. Kirrahe seemed capable enough from what she’d seen on Virmire. And it wasn’t like she could drop him off anywhere now.

She held out her hand to Kirrahe. “Welcome abroad the Normandy, Captain.”

He smiled as he reached out to take it. “Thank you, Commander. I’m happy to be here.”

* * *

Wrex, it turned out, wasn’t too happy with the addition of the salarian to their squad. He glowered at Kirrahe as the salarian sorted through his gear, storing what he didn’t need at the moment in one of the lockers. He didn’t have much. Just the armor and weapons he’d been carrying on Virmire. But Shepard had been kind enough to offer him the use of some of the gear she had available on the Normandy.

The heavy footsteps coming towards him told him of Wrex’s approached without even having to look up. “What are you still doing here, pyjack?”

“The same as you I’d imagine,” Kirrahe said as he checked the heat sink in his pistol.

“Why? Haven’t you done enough already?”

Kirrahe looked up, trying to not be intimidated by the krogan towering over him. “Saren’s search for the conduit threatens all of us. I’ll do my part to make sure he doesn’t succeed.”

“Yeah, you destroyed his cure for my people eagerly enough.”

“Didn’t you already talk to Shepard about this?” Kirrahe asked. “That facility needed to be destroyed.”

He calmly met the glare that continued to bore into him. Of course, he didn’t expect Wrex to be over the destruction of what could have been some hope for his people. But Shepard had managed to talk him down on Virmire.

“Yes,” Wrex said, “But you wanted the cure destroyed.”

“I did.” Kirrahe placed his pistol into the locker and stood up so that he no longer needed to look up at Wrex. It looked like the krogan was about to say something so Kirrahe held up a hand to stop him. “I know your feelings on the matter and you know mine. This mission will go smoother if we aren’t arguing about the morality of the genophage with each other. We need to be able to work together.”

Wrex actually laughed at that. Kirrahe blinked, not sure how to respond. He hadn’t thought he was saying anything particularly funny.

“You have a spine, pyjack,” Wrex said, “I respect that.”

“Are the two of you getting along?”

They both turned to see Shepard walking towards them. Kirrahe shrugged and glanced over at Wrex. “Well enough.”

“Good,” Shepard said. “You’re both going to be on the ground team when we reach Ilos. Be ready to go at the Mako in an hour.”

Wrex waited for Shepard to leave before clapping Kirrahe hard on the back. “First time in the Mako with Shepard? This is going to be fun.”

He didn’t elaborate any further, just nudged Kirrahe aside so that he could get to his locker and take out his shotgun. Kirrahe noticed Garrus watching the exchange from where he was doing some work on the Mako’s guns on the other side of the room. His mandibles twitched as he met Kirrahe’s eyes. “You’ll see,” was the only explanation he offered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have mixed feelings about this chapter. A lot of it is pulled right from the game, including the long dialogue with Vigil. I didn't really want to do that, but I also didn't think the chapter flowed well without having those parts in it. I've already started working on the next chapter, and that one won't be pulled from the game the same way this one is.

They landed on Ilos to find a blocked entrance and a lot of geth. The three of them got out of the Mako and ducked behind some of the many rocks strewn about for cover. Well, Shepard and Kirrahe did. Wrex charged forward and slammed his head into one of the geth. Not Kirrahe’s preferred fighting style, but it seemed effective enough. The geth crumpled to the ground at Wrex’s feet as he slammed into another one, and fired a blast from his shotgun into its chest.

Kirrahe leaned out from behind his cover to fire his pistol at one of the geth troops. Shepard did the same, then raised one hand to send a blast to biotic energy at another. Before long the geth in the immediate area were all dead.

They made their way through the geth troops that way. Wrex charged ahead of them, a deadly force of krogan strength and biotic skill. Kirrahe and Shepard followed behind, ducking into and out of cover and taking down geth with their weapons and Shepard’s biotics.

 _I’m glad Wrex is on our side_ , Kirrahe thought as he watched Wrex slam one arm into a geth, and then slam his forehead down on it as well. The geth crumpled, giving them access to an old looking elevator. Shepard marched into the elevator and Kirrahe and Wrex followed.

The elevator took them below the ground, where they had another battle with a bunch of geth, including a geth prime that took the three of them working together to bring down.

Once the geth prime went down they had a chance to explore the area. At the far side of the room, they found a path which sloped upward, and ended in a smaller room. Shepard fiddled with some controls she found and a strange fuzzy ball appeared in the air before her. A message, Kirrahe realized, or at least what was left of one. Time had almost degraded it, and if it was saying anything important, he couldn’t understand it.

“I don’t recognize the language,” Wrex said.

“It doesn’t sound like one spoken by any of the citadel races,” Kirrahe agreed. “It could be prothean.”

“The message is all broken up, but I recognize some of the words,” Shepard said. “It’s a warning against the Reaper invasion.”

“What’s it saying?” Wrex asked. “Can you make out anything useful?”

“It said something about the conduit but it’s too degraded to help,” Shepard said. “We should go.”

Shepard turned to leave, and Kirrahe fell into step beside her. “I didn’t realize you understood the prothean language, Commander.”

“There was a beacon on Eden Prime,” Shepard said, “It planted prothean knowledge into my head.”

“I see,” Kirrahe said.

The three of them stepped into an elevator, a different one than the one they’d taken down. It brought them back to the surface, close to where they’d left the Mako.

“So, who wants to take the Mako into the tunnels?” Wrex asked.

“We’re taking it,” Shepard said, already heading towards the door. “Get in everyone.”

Kirrahe and Wrex both climbed into the Mako, and strapped themselves in as Shepard started the vehicle up.

With a lurch, the Mako started moving, quickly picking up speed as they entered the passageway. The path ahead of them was straight, but it was difficult to tell that with the way Shepard zipped down it, drifted to one side before straightening out and drifting towards the wall in the other direction. When the Mako took its first turn, Kirrahe and Wrex would have been thrown against the doors of the vehicle if they weren’t strapped into their seats.

“Does she always drive like this?” Kirrahe asked Wrex as the Mako plowed right into a geth that was raising its gun to attack them.

“Yup,” Wrex said.

They were jerked forward against their harnesses as the Mako came to a sudden stop, speed backwards a few feet, fired off a few rounds, and then speed forward against to run over another geth who made the mistake of getting too close.

“That’s one way to kill geth,” Kirrahe said.

“Yup.”

“It would be a lot easier to just shoot them.”

“Yup.”

“Less chance of damaging the Mako too.”

“Yup.”

Shepard finished shooting, and running over the geth in their way and then they were on their way through the tunnel once again. At least until they came to a stop at a spot where the path was blocked, a barrier of some kind in their way.

“The geth?” Wrex asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Shepard said. She climbed out of the Mako and headed towards an elevator in the wall besides where they were parked. Kirrahe and Wrex followed.

The elevator took them down, as well as forward. No one spoke as they descended, or when the elevator came to a stop and the door opened. They stepped out and walked down the path, coming to a stop before a strange glowing thing similar to what Shepard had spoken to earlier.

“You are not prothean, but you are not machine either.”

To his surprise, Kirrahe could understand the words being spoken this time. While the image of the person speaking was impossible to make out, the sound was notably clearer than the previous one had been, not at all gargled or missing parts.

“This eventuality was one of many that was anticipated,” the prothean continued. “This was why we sent our warning through the beacons.”

“Looks like some kind of VI program,” Wrex said. “Pretty badly damage.”

“I do not sense the taint of indoctrination on any of you. Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope.”

“How can we understand you?” Kirrahe asked.

“I have been monitoring your communication since you arrived at this facility,” the prothean VI said, “I have translated my output into a format you will comprehend. My name is Vigil. You are safe here for the moment, but that is likely to change. Soon nowhere will be safe.”

“Why did you bring us here?” Shepard asked.

“You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years,” Vigil said, “But to stop it, you must understand or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilization and the seat of government. As it was with us, and it was been with every civilization that came before us. But the Citadel is a trap. The station is actually an enormous mass relay. One that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy’s horizon. When the Citadel relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through. And all you know will be destroyed.”

“The Reapers can wipe out the council and the entire Citadel fleet in a surprise attack!” Shepard said.

“That was our fate,” Vigil said. “Our leaders were dead before we even realized we were under attack. The Reapers seized control of the Citadel and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation across our empire were crippled. Each star system was isolated, cut off from the others. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades, the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out.”

“Some of you must have managed to survive,” Shepard said.

“Through the Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, census data,” Vigil said. “Information is power, and they knew everything about us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines. Within a few centuries, the Reapers had killed or enslaved every Prothean in the galaxy. They were relentless, brutal and absolutely thorough.”

“I don’t understand,” Shepard said, “Where did the Reapers go after they conquered your people?”

“Our worlds were stripped bare, harvested by the indoctrinated slaves,” Vigil said. “Everything of value – all resources, all technology – was taken. Certain that all advanced organic life had been extinguished, the Reapers retreated back through the Citadel relay into dark space, sealing it behind them. All evidence of the Reaper invasion had been wiped away. Only their indoctrinated slaves were left behind, abandoned. Mindless husks no longer capable of independent thought, the indoctrinated soon starved or died of exposure. The genocide of the protheans was complete.”

“You said you brought me here for a reason,” Shepard said. “Tell me what I need to do.”

“The conduit is the key,” Vigil explained. “Before the Reapers attacked, we protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind mass relay technology. Ilos was a top-secret facility. Here, researched worked to create a small-scale version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel: the hub of the relay network.”

“We could use the Conduit to get onto the Citadel,” Kirrahe said.

Shepard glanced briefly in his direction, then looked back at Vigil. “How did you manage to stay hidden?”

“All official records of our project were destroyed in the initial attack on the Citadel,” Vigil said. “While the prothean empire came crashing down, Ilos was spared. We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. The personnel retreated underground into these archives. To conserve resources, everyone was put into cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility and wake the staff when the danger had passed. But the genocide of an entire species in a long, slow process. Years passed. Decades, centuries. The Reapers persisted. And my energy reserves were dwindling.”

“You didn’t even try to fight them?” Shepard asked.

“We were a few hundred against a galactic invasion fleet,” Vigil told her. “Our only hope was to remain undetected. I began to disable the life support of non-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one, their pods were shut down to conserve energy. Eventually, only the stasis pods of the top scientists remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Reapers finally retreated back through the Citadel relay.”

“So, you just shut down the pods and killed them?” Shepard asked.

“This outcome was not completely unforeseen,” Vigil said. “My actions were a result of contingency programming entered on my creation.”

“I bet you didn’t tell them that,” Wrex said.

“I saved key personnel,” Vigil said. “When the Reapers retreated, the top researchers were still alive. My actions are the only reason any hope remains. When the researchers woke, they realized the prothean species was doomed. There were only a few dozen individuals left, far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to find some way to stop the reapers from returning. A way to break the cycle forever. And they knew the keepers were the key.”

“I don’t understand,” Shepard said. “Why is Saren trying to find the Conduit?”

“The Conduit gives him access to the Citadel and the keepers,” Vigil explained. “The keepers are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, a signal is sent through the station compelling the keepers to activate the Citadel relay. After decades of feverish study, the scientists discovered a way to alter this signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the Citadel and made the modifications. This time, when Sovereign sent the signal to the Citadel, the keepers ignored it. The reapers are trapped in dark space.”

“Saren can use the Conduit to bypass all the Citadel’s external defenses,” Shepard said.

“Correct,” Vigil said, “And once inside, he can transfer control of the station to Sovereign. Sovereign will override the Citadel’s systems and manually open the relay. And the cycle of extinction will begin again.”

“Is there any way we can stop them?” Shepard asked.

“There’s a data file in my console. Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel’s master control unit, upload it to the station. It will corrupt the Citadel’s security protocols and give you temporary control over the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign.”

“I’ve never heard of a master control unit,” Kirrahe said, “Where is that?”

“Through the Conduit,” Vigil said, “Follow Saren. He will lead you to your destination.”

Shepard pulled up her omni-tool so that she could copy the file from Vigil. “I’ve got it. Let’s go.”

“The one you call Saren has not reached the Conduit. Not yet. There is still hope if you hurry,” Vigil told them before his VI program faded, leaving the three of them alone in the passage once again.

Shepard looked at the spot he’d been for a moment before she turned to head back towards the elevator. “We need to hurry if we want to catch Saren.”

Kirrahe nodded in agreement as he and Wrex followed her. It was obvious that they needed to stop this invasion. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to the galaxy if they failed.

When they emerged from the elevator, they found the Mako parked where they’d left it, and the barrier that had been clocking their way gone. They got back into the Mako and were off, back to zipping down the passageway and running over some of the geth who tried to stop them.

At one point, the pathway dropped off in front of them. Shepard didn’t hesitate though, just drove down it, the Mako bouncing a few times and almost veering off into the wall before Shepard straightened the vehicle and continued forward.

“I don’t think we’re getting the Mako back up that,” Kirrahe said.

“Not without a lot of effort,” Wrex agreed. He didn’t seem too worried about it though.

Several more geth battles later and they came around a bend in the path to see the conduit ahead of them. More geth blocked their way.

“They aren’t going to make this easy for us,” Wrex said.

“I’ve got this.” Shepard speed the Mako down the path, ignoring all the geth around them as they raced towards the conduit. They were so close; she wasn’t going to give the conduit time to close before they could reach it.

The shields protecting the Mako went down under the constant fire from the geth and started striking the vehicle. The Mako jerked as one of the wheels failed, and then another. Shepard didn’t hesitate, just kept pushing forward.

The Mako was smoking from somewhere when they did finally reach the conduit and shoot into it at full speed, or at least as fast as the beat-up vehicle could move after the barrage of fire it had just taken.

* * *

The Mako crashed out of the other side of the conduit, rolled a few times, and came to a stop upside down, wheels spinning in the air. Smoke still trailed out from the back.

Kirrahe unfastened his harness and dropped down onto the roof. Shepard and Wrex did the same and they call crawled out from the Mako. Wrex surveyed the damage to the vehicle once he was out. “Garrus to going to have fun patching this up later!”

Kirrahe wasn’t sure that patching up was the right word choice for the situation. It looked to him like they’d be better off just getting a whole new Mako once this was over.

The Mako had landed on two geth, neither of which appeared to be moving. Kirrahe pulled out his pistol and nudged one with his foot to make sure it wasn’t going to get up again. Beside him, Wrex laughed. “You can’t resist running into geth, can you Shepard?”

“I have a talent for it,” she replied.

As they started walking away from the Mako, several husks rushed at them. Kirrahe quickly fired his pistol at the closest ones before they could grab him. Between the three of them it wasn’t long before all the husks were dead.

“You’re not a bad shot,” Wrex said to Kirrahe.

Kirrahe smiled, appreciating the compliment coming from Wrex. He doubted the krogan had a high opinion of salarians combat ability in general. “You aren’t so bad yourself.”

Shepard was already heading to the nearby elevator. “Let’s go. We need to stop Saren before he starts a reaper invasion.”

* * *

Of course, nothing could ever be easy. Saren shut down the elevator as they headed up into the Citadel Tower. So they had to suit up, and climb their way up, fighting through geth and some of Saren’s krogan forces as they went. It took them longer than they would have liked, but they did reach Citadel Tower.

They ran into the council chambers towards the upper platform to find Saren punching something into the interface up there. He turned towards them as they entered the room and jumped down onto the flying platform he’d been using on Virmire. As he came down, he tossed a grenade in their path.

The three of them lunged for the nearest cover as the grenade exploded where they’d been a few seconds earlier.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t make it in time, Shepard,” Saren said.

“In time for what?” Shepard asked.

“The final confrontation,” Saren said, crossing his arms across his chest. “I think we both expected it to end like this. You’ve lost. You know that, don’t you? In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full control of all the Citadel’s systems. The relay will open. The reapers will return.”

Shepard turned her head to look at Saren from where she sat behind cover. Her pistol was out, ready for anything Saren might try to do. “I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“You survived our encounter on Virmire,” Saren said, “But I’ve changed since then, improved. Sovereign has upgraded me.”

“You let Sovereign implant you?” Shepard said. “Are you insane?”

“I suppose I should thank you, Shepard. After Virmire, I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said, about Sovereign manipulating me. About indoctrination. The doubts began to eat away at me. Sovereign sensed my hesitation. I was implanted, to strengthen my resolve. Now my doubts are gone. I believe in Sovereign completely. I understand that the reapers need organics. Join us, and Sovereign will find a place for you too.”

“Sovereign’s controlling you through your implant,” Shepard said, “Don’t you see that?”

“The relationship is symbiotic. Organic and machine intertwined, a union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither. I am a vision of the future, Shepard. The evolution of all organic life. This is our destiny. Join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth.”

“Sovereign hasn’t won yet,” Shepard said, “I can stop it from taking control of the station. Step aside and the invasion will never happen!”

“We can’t stop it,” Saren said, “Not forever. You saw the visions. You saw what happened to the protheans. The reapers are too powerful.”

“Some part of you must still realize this is wrong,” Shepard said, “You can fight this.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Saren brought one hand up towards his head. “Maybe there is still a chance for… unh! The implants… Sovereign is too strong. I’m sorry. It’s too late for me.”

Shepard rolled out from behind cover, stood up so that she was facing Saren. “It’s not over yet. You can still redeem yourself!”

“Goodbye, Shepard. Thank you.” 

From where he still knelt in cover, Kirrahe watched as Saren raised his pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. For a moment, Saren remained standing on the platform before he tumbled over, falling down a level until he hit the ground beneath them.

Shepard watched Saren fall, but didn’t wait long before stepping up to the control terminal and using her omni-tool to upload the data she’d gotten from Vigil and gain control of the Citadel’s systems.

“Vigil’s data file worked,” she said, turning around to look at Kirrahe and Wrex. “I’ve got control of all systems.”

“Open the Citadel’s arms,” Wrex suggested, “The fleet can take Sovereign down.”

“You should open a communications channel,” Kirrahe said, “See what’s happening out there.”

Shepard tapped a few things on her omni-tool, doing as Kirrahe suggested, and opening up their communications. As soon as she did that, they heard a communication coming from the Destiny Ascension.

“… the Destiny Ascension. Main drives offline. Kinetic barriers down 40%. The council is on board. I repeat, the Council is on board.”

As soon as that transmission stopped coming through, Joker’s voice came over the comms. “Normandy to the Citadel. Normandy to the Citadel. Please tell me that’s you, Commander.”

“I’m here, Joker,” Shepard said.

“We caught that distress call, Commander,” Joker said, “I’m sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet. We can save the Ascension. Just unlock the relays around the Citadel and we’ll send the cavalry in.”

“Don’t sacrifice your fleet to save the council. What have they ever done for us?” Wrex asked.

“This is bigger than that,” Kirrahe said, “Sovereign’s a threat to every species in the galaxy.”

“Which is why we shouldn’t throw away reinforcements trying to save the council,” Wrex said.

“What’s the order, Commander?” Joker asked over the comms. “Come in now to save the Ascension or hold back?”

Shepard looked down at her omni-tool, hesitating for a moment before tapping something into it. “Opening the relays now, Joker. We need to save the Ascension – no matter what the cost!”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Wrex said.

Turning away from the control terminal and her omni-tool, Shepard looked down at where Saren lay, unmoving. “Make sure he’s dead,” she told Kirrahe and Wrex.

They jumped down and approached Saren together. Wrex pulled out his pistol and fire several rounds into Saren’s head. “There,” Wrex said, “Now he’s really dead.”

Kirrahe glanced down in his direction. “He already was.”

“Yeah, but now he’s really dead.”

Not dead enough, it turned out. No sooner had those words left Wrex’s mouth when the room rocked beneath them and an explosion sent them flying into the wall.

Kirrahe pushed himself back to his feet. The explosion had knocked Shepard down as well. She was no longer on the platform above them, but getting back to her feet in front of him. Looking past Shepard, he saw the form that had been Saren was also getting up. It looked to him that whatever that was it was now more implants and reaper technology than it was Saren.

Some sort of lightning or energy attack shot towards them and Kirrahe ducked behind some rocks for cover. The way Saren started hopping all over the place made it difficult to aim any attack at him. But after a few minutes of dodging attacks and firing at a fast-moving target, Saren went down again.

“I don’t think he’ll get back up this time,” Kirrahe said, stepping out from behind his cover to take a look at Saren’s corpse.

Shepard and Wrex came over to stand beside him. “Let’s get out of here,” Shepard said, looking above them to where the council chambers were.

They were climbing back up when they saw a large piece that must have broken off of Sovereign flying towards them. There wasn’t enough time to get out of the way before it crashed through the window, sending pieces of debris flying everywhere.

* * *

“Pyjack! Hey, Pyjack! Kirrahe, wake up!”

Kirrahe groaned and forced his eyes open. Wrex was leaning over him, one hand on his shoulder. “You still alive?” He asked, taking his hand off his shoulder and holding it out to Kirrahe.

Taking the offered hand, Kirrahe let Wrex pull him up into a sitting position. “I’m in one piece,” he said. While he felt some pain in a few places, likely from being hit by debris, he figured he’d been pretty lucky.

Now that he was sitting up, he could see that they were surrounded by fallen debris, and he couldn’t see any sign of Shepard.

“Where’s Shepard?” He asked.

“Not with us.” Wrex glanced at the walls of debris around them. “We’ll have to try and dig ourselves out, see if we can find her.”

Wrex shifted position and was about to start moving things around. “Wait,” Kirrahe said, stopping him with a hand on his arm. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” Wrex stopped reaching for a piece of the wall and listened. There was someone out there, and it sounded like they were moving debris around.

A minute later, a large piece was moved and Anderson looked in at them. “Shepard?”

Wrex shook his head, and looked out over what remained of the council chambers. Anderson’s face fell, but he and the Alliance soldiers with him helped Wrex and Kirrahe to their feet.

“She could be buried under all of this like we were,” Kirrahe said, looking around the area. It might take them a while to go through all of it, but they needed to find her.

He was trying to decide on the best place to start looking when a sound nearby caught his attention. They all turned in that direction to see Shepard climbing over the debris towards them. A smile crossed all of their faces.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time. I am planning to continue this fic through some of the events of the 2nd and 3rd game though.

“So, humanity has their council seat.”

Kirrahe and Shepard sat at a bar in the wards, one of the few places that was open this soon after the geth attack on the Citadel. This spot wasn’t as badly damaged as other areas, but there were still signs of the destruction.

“Does that bother you?” Shepard asked.

“Not at all.” Kirrahe shook his head. “It’s well deserved. Some may say its too soon. Your species are the newcomers to the galactic community. There are others who have been seeking a seat on the council much longer. But you just saved all of us. I didn’t see any volus out there fighting Saren.”

She smiled. “I didn’t do it alone.”

“No, you didn’t,” Kirrahe agreed, “But you made the tough calls and got the job done.”

Shepard put her drink down and reached out to grasp Kirrahe’s hand. “Thank you for sticking around after Virmire.”

Kirrahe looked down at their hands, surprised, but he didn’t pull away. “It was an honor to fight alongside you, Commander.”

“What will you do now?” Shepard asked.

“I’ll need to return to the STG.” He could tell from her facial expression that she was disappointed but not surprised. “I’ll tell them what happened here. Warn them that the reapers are still out there somewhere, if they’ll listen.”

“Good luck with that. I think most people want to believe this was just an attack from the geth, the council included.”

“But we know it wasn’t,” Kirrahe said.

Shepard nodded. “They’re going to send me out after the remaining geth. Once we’re finished sorting out the mess here.”

Kirrahe took a sip of his drink. “I don’t need to leave immediately. Gunnery Chief Williams told me there’s going to be a memorial service for Lieutenant Alenko later this week. I plan to attend that, and then find passage on a vessel heading to Sur’Kesh.”

She looked down at her drink, focusing on that rather than anything else in the room. “I wish I could have saved both of them. But I’m glad you’re coming to the service. Thank you.”

“There wasn’t anything else you could have done,” Kirrahe said, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

She raised her head again to look at him. His face was still alien to her, but she was learning to read his facial expressions. There was understanding there, and she remembered wat he had said about losing half of his men investigating Saren’s facilities on Virmire. They’d both lost people under their command, and she couldn’t help but think that they would again.

Letting go of his hand, Shepard grabbed her glass and drained what was left in it. “I don’t suppose we can find an open arcade or vid theater right now.”

“Doubtful,” Kirrahe said, taking a drink from his own glass, “I’m surprised this place is even open.”

“Oh well.” Shepard gestured to the bartender to refill her empty glass. “There’s a new Blasto vid coming out next month, but by then you’ll be busy with the STG and I’ll probably be out hunting geth.”

“They’re making another one?”

“So I’ve heard,” Shepard said, “Blasto seems to be pretty popular. I haven’t actually watched any of them though. Have you?”

Kirrahe shock his head. “I don’t have much time for that. The vids I have seen are mostly salarian ones.”

“Maybe you can show me your favorite sometime,” Shepard suggested.

“I’d like that.” Kirrahe smiled. “Or we could try Blasto.”

He didn’t really care about seeing Blasto, but found that he wanted to spend more time with Shepard. They hadn’t known each other very long, but he was already starting to consider her a friend.

Shepard smiled. “I’ll get a download of the fist one and we can watch it sometime. For now, I guess you’re just stuck with my company.”

There wasn’t any reason why she couldn’t get a download of it before they both left the Citadel. None of the entertainment places were open, but the extranet wasn’t down. Kirrahe didn’t point that out though. He liked it better this way. They would see each other again.

* * *

The memorial service for Kaidan was a quiet affair. The crew of the Normandy all attending, and some other people Kaiden had known, but the public was kept out. Otherwise there likely would have been many more people curious about the heroes who saved them from the geth attack.

They had no body. There was nothing to recover from Virmire given how close Kaiden had been to the bomb when it went off. But most of the crew stood up to talk about their memories of him.

Kirrahe stuck to the back of the room. He didn’t know Kaiden like the rest of the crew, had only met him briefly when Shepard arrived on Virmire, and so he wouldn’t speak at the service. Hearing the rest of them, it was obvious how close the crew of the Normandy had become during the hunt for Saren.

After everyone was done speaking, they remained in the room, many quietly talking to each other.

“Hey, thanks for coming.” Ashley leaned against the wall next to Kirrahe.

“Of course. I said I would.” Missing this service hadn’t even crossed his mind. “You gave a good speech up there.”

“Thanks. I’m not used to standing up and talking in front of other people like that.” Ashley’s gaze swept over the crowd, focusing mostly on the members of the Normandy crew. “When are you heading back to Sur’Kesh?”

“Two days.”

“We’re heading out after get in a few weeks but the Normandy’s going to seem empty. Tali’s leaving soon to bring some data on the geth she found back to the fleet. Garrus is staying here on the Citadel. Wrex said something about going back to Tuckanka.”

Kirrahe nodded. “Saren’s defeated. We all have our own lives to live.”

“The reapers are still out there,” Ashley said.

“I know.” He wondered if the rest of the crew would bring what they knew to their people. Would they listen? Or would they ignore it like the council seemed to be doing? “I’m going to warn my people.”

“Good luck,” Ashley said, “I hope they believe you.”

Kirrahe nodded. “So do I.”

* * *

Two days later, Kirrahe stood with Shepard just outside one of the docking bays in the Citadel. The docks were busy, either from people laving after the geth attack, or with people coming in either to assist with the clean-up, or see family and friends who lived there. There was a wait to book transport off the Citadel. Kirrahe might have been waiting longer without his STG identification.

He held out a hand to Shepard. “Until next time, Commander.”

Shepard took the offered hand. “Take care of yourself, Kirrahe.”

“You too,” Kirrahe replied. “We’ll work together again. I’m certain of it.”

He wasn’t sure when, but he had the feeling they’d all need to come together again. If the reapers attacked, he certainly wanted to be by Shepard’s side trying to stop them.

But right now, there was other work to be done. He let go of Shepard’s hand and walking towards the ship that would take him to Sur’Kesh.


End file.
